March~ The dream of my lifeis to lie down by a slow riverAnd stare at the light in the trees —To learn something by being nothingA little while but the richLens of attention. Mary Oliver, "Entering the Kingdom"

Quiet month in Taos included a week of silent meditation retreat. You could say that for a short time I was a lens of attention. Rich? Not sure about that! Jeb meets Alan and me in Moab, UT, for a weekend of hiking, slickrock biking, and fine dining at our rental house. Then Alan and I camp/hike at the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park. FUN!

April ~ "Do at least one thing that scares you every day." Eleanor Roosevelt

Alan house sat in Taos and renovated east wall of dining area with new window and door. Meanwhile I travelled through Eastern Europe with best girlfriend, Barbara. We started in Vienna, moved on to Czech Republic, Berlin, Estonia, Berlin, Denver, a ski day at A-Basin close to Breckenridge(CO), and home. WHEW! Check earlier blog posts if you'd like to see a few photos from that trip :-)

Leaving a contractor to tear out and replace windows when you're a continent away - now that's scary!! Hope you'll visit Taos to see Alan's magnificent craftsmanship.

May ~ "There were four million people in the colonies and we had Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, Monroe, Washington. Now we have over 350 million and several top noisemakers are Hillary, Bernanke, Bachman, Petraeus. What can you draw from this? Darwin was wrong!"Mort Sahl

Jeb and Amelia visit her family in Sweden. I'm happy to be home, listening to water run in the acequia (irrigation ditch)and admiring Taos Mountain view through new dining room window.

June ~ "Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul upon another." George Eliot

Michael Storey arrives for three weeks from Wokingham, England - highlights include hot air balloon ride with Barbara (quick overlap visit), Florrisant Fossil Beds in Colorado, lunch on the Rio Grande RR drive through Royal Gorge, dawn photo-ops at Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. Guess it's time to past-post blog entries from this wonderful reunion.

October ~ "What do we wish? — To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather what we are separated from." Terry Tempest Williams, one of my favorite Utah-based writers

November ~ "If the United Nations had a house band in 1962, then hopefully we'd be that band." Thomas Lauderdale

Sister Sue visits - great outings to Georgia O'Keefe land in/around Abiquiu and memorable concert at the Lensic Theatre in Santa Fe. Spent the night at charming B&B before returning Sue to airport in ABQ.

December ~ "Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching." C.S.Lewis

Quick trip to Mom's in Sunnyvale in early December. Highlights: Alamo Square walking tour with Mom and cousin Phyllis and Maharaja Exhibit at Asian Art Museum + grand small-world-story. When I returned to Taos, my front pasture had been plowed: beautiful black earth awaits spring planting.

Jeb and Amelia spend a white Christmas in Taos: lots of lamb dinners and great skiing along with stockings, presents, games, bonfires at Taos Pueblo. WONDERFUL!